Both Democrats and the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused Gonzales of lying to them while under oath.Attorney General Gonzales Out Of Credibility, Say SenatorsBy Cliff Montgomery – Aug. 7th, 2007Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has somehow created even more trouble for himself among lawmakers. House members were already out for his lying hide before the August Congressional recess; by the last full week of July, it was the Senate’s turn.That’s when Gonzales last testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. By the end of that debacle, no less than four Democratic members were demanding that the Justice Department name a special counsel to determine whether Gonzales had committed perjury.Charles Schumer of New York, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Dianne Feinstein of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island declare that Gonzales committed perjury numerous times during his acts of congressional testimony, which include his now-infamous Senate Judiciary appearance on July 24th. They’ve called for Solicitor General Paul Clement to appoint a special counsel from outside the Justice Department to investigate the matter.Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking Republican on the Senate panel, said that the request was premature. But that argument may have come out of a sense of party loyalty; it’s clear Sen. Specter is as frustrated with Gonzales as the Democratic committee members.Much of the matter turns on discussions within the Justice Department about the deeply controversial National Security Agency (NSA) warrantless spying program, which George W. Bush only acknowledged after The New York Times broke the story in December 2005.This disclosure apparently brought on judiciary panel investigations from both the House and Senate. In February 2006, the attorney general testified to the Senate committee that no serious arguments about the program’s legality existed among Justice Department officials.That claim crashed this May, when former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified to the panel that in March 2004, Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card Jr.–at that time George W. Bush’s White House counsel and chief of staff respectively–visited Ashcroft as he lay in intensive care at George Washington University Hospital on March 10th, 2004 in the hope of doing “an end run” around Comey, who was acting attorney general during Ashcroft’s illness.Their plan, testified Comey, was to obtain re-certification of the domestic spying program, which for unspecified reasons Comey had flatly refused to continue. A presidential directive at the time stated that the legality of the spy program was to be verified by the Justice Department every 45 days.Comey also testified that he, Ashcroft, top Justice Department aides and even FBI Director Robert Mueller came close to tending their resignations after the Bush Administration continued the program without Justice Department re-certification. The threat of mass resignation apparently only ceased after the Bush White House agreed to change more questionable aspects of the program. Comey refused to discuss details.On July 24th, Gonzales admitted to the Senate panel that he flew to Ashcroft’s hospital bedside with Andrew Card on March 10th, 2004, shortly after a congressional briefing which took place earlier that day in the White House Situation Room. But he testified a number of times that the matter discussed at the March 2004 meeting had nothing to do with the domestic spying program.“The disagreement that occurred, and the reason for the visit to the hospital, Senator, was about other intelligence activities,” Gonzales claimed to Sen. Specter.But Gonzales presumably forgot that a number of Democratic panel members also sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. They possess classified briefings on the spy program which apparently prove this testimony to be a tissue of lies.If that weren’t enough, the testimony of FBI chief Mueller before the House Judiciary Committee on July 26th puts the final nail in Gonzales’ credibility. Mueller’s statements obviously contradict Gonzales’ claims about the bedside visit of March 2004.Mueller also went to the hospital that night, and talked with Ashcroft shortly after Gonzales and Card had been there. The FBI chief testified that Ashcroft had just participated in a talk with the two White House officials “on…an NSA program that has been much discussed.”In 2000, George W. Bush said that he was going to “bring us together” if he became the president. And in a way, he has.Both Democrats and the leading Republican on the Senate committee have openly accused Attorney General Gonzales of continuously lying to them while under oath.”I do not find your testimony credible, candidly,” declared Senator Specter, who often had heated exchanges with Gonzales.”The committee’s going to review your testimony very carefully to see if your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable,” warned an infuriated Specter.Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) perhaps was even more candid, flatly telling Gonzales: “I don’t trust you.”Don’t worry about your candor, Sens. Specter and Leahy: the rest of America no longer trusts this attorney general either.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
How Necessary Laws Are Killed These Days
Lawmakers generally only fight to protect the things they care about – and all too often, that just doesn’t include the lives of most of their constituents.
